Back to Rudolph...and The Dead Guy in the Garden

Dying in a Winter Wonderland, Vicki Delany
Rudolph, New York, in the past a thriving port on Lake Erie, has remade itself into a year-'round Christmas town, where our protagonist, Merry Wilkinson, runs a high-class gift shop, Mrs. Claus's Treasures. Unfortunately mysteries seem to find her, and the newest arrives in the form of Luanne Ireland, a rather self-absorbed former classmate of Merry's younger brother Chris, who talked Merry into designing her small summer wedding. On Christmas Eve, Luanne breaks the news that the wedding's moved up to Valentine's Day and will be three times as big. Merry's no sooner digested this bombshell than brother Chris returns for a holiday visit, and suddenly "happily-engaged" Luanne throws herself at him, arising the ire of her wealthy fiance, Jeff Vanderhaven. So when Vanderhaven is found clubbed to death in the gardens at the Yuletide Inn, guess who is blamed—and guess who is determined to clear him.

Before I start, please note that I really like these books: I'd nearly sell my soul to live in an all-year Christmas town like Rudolph, I like Merry and her Christmas-centric family (dad Noel, former opera singer mom Aline, unseen sisters Carole and Eve), the store sounds fabulous, so does Vicky's bakery, and Merry's boyfriend is a doll (so is her dog). Even annoying police officer Candy Campbell isn't all that bad.

 

But really, I have no idea why anyone would want to marry Luanne, who is a whiny crybaby, or why Luanne would even look twice at Jeff Vanderhaven (you know he's an asshole when he parks in a handicapped parking space and isn't handicapped). As Aline was too nice to her old college classmates in the last book, Merry is too nice to Luanne once she starts throwing herself at Chris. And Merry is letting her assistant manager Jackie get away with too much (why is Kyle always hanging around?); although she has to thank God for Jackie, as she is so busy being out sleuthing that her store would soon go out of business as little as she seems to be in it sometimes. And Muddle Harbor, the little town next to Rudolph, seems just so stereotypically nasty it's if they are a collection of inbred hillbillies up in the wilds of western New York state—now apparently they've entered a new level of illegal activity if what Diane Simmonds says is true. (Sounds like this is something that may pop up in the next book.) Surely there must be a few nice people in Muddle Harbor?

So I enjoyed the mystery, enjoyed the setting, like the people, but still wish the Rudolph vs. Muddle Harbor battle wasn't so black and white and Merry would decide whether she wants to run the store or a detective agency.